As Veterans Day approaches in the United States, it’s a time to reflect on and honor those who have fought, both at home and abroad, to protect the American way of life. Preserving their stories is essential. Even when the men and women who served are no longer with us, their belongings—boots, uniforms, helmets, journals, and photographs—offer a window into the lives of American service members. One of those cherished belongings is showcased at the Don Gfell Education Center within the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum, right here in Milan, Ohio.
On the right hand side of the Don Gfell Education Center near the back of the room sits a collection of items from World War I. During World War I, Thomas Edison joined the United States Naval Consulting Board as its chairman. He would go on to experiment with forty-eight different projects, including everything from alarms to let ships and submarines know of underwater explosions to an anti-roll platform for ships to ensure accuracy in rough seas. Although the Navy never developed any of Thomas’ ideas, the Army and Navy requested that Thomas Edison create something for the soldiers: a phonograph. As a result, he created the Army/Navy Model of the Edison Phonograph for American soldiers to use in Europe during World War I. The Army/Navy Phonograph was only made for eighteen months, from July 1917 to when the Armistice was formally announced on November 11th, 1918. Only a few were ever produced, and even fewer survived the European theater of conflict, and one of those few now resides in the Don Gfell Education Center.
Simply getting to exhibit this rare and amazing piece of Edisonia is an honor for the museum, but this particular Army/Navy Phonograph has a spellbinding story to tell. On the inside of the lid of the Army/Navy Phonograph, there is a small metal plate. That plate has an inscription that reads, “308TH UNITED STATES INFANTRY, FRANCE”. As that plate indicates, the phonograph once belonged to the 308th Infantry Regiment during World War I, one of the most storied units to take up arms. While this phonograph only saw about four months of action with its unit, those four months must have felt like centuries for the men of 308th.
The 308th Infantry was made up of men from New York City, and the entire group spoke 42 different languages and dialects. They were deployed to Europe in April of 1918 and proceeded to train alongside British soldiers until June of 1918. They then found themselves fighting in France, and they, alongside their commander, Major Charles W. Whittlesey, were tabbed to fight in the famous Argonne Offensive. The goal of the Argonne Offensive was to break through a steadfast German line in an effort to force an end to the conflict. In order to achieve this goal, the men of the 308th Infantry would, as Thomas Edison famously said, have to “fight like bulldogs in the face of overwhelming odds”.
The Army/Navy phonograph in the Don Gfell Education Center went right alongside Major Whittlesey and the rest of the 308th Infantry as they began to push alongside other Allied forces in early October of 1918. On October 2nd, the 308th Infantry Regiment pushed and successfully captured Hill 198 but became firmly encircled by German forces. Rather than retreat, Major Whittlesey ordered his troops to defend Hill 198 by whatever means necessary and soon found themselves under constant German barrages for five days and for five nights. Fellow American forces began to mount an artillery assault on the German forces surrounding the 308th Infantry Regiment, but instead of hitting German soldiers, American artillery began to rain down on the American soldiers defending Hill 198.
Major Whittlesey had to get a message to the American artillery in order to save both his life and the lives of everyone under his command. He had sent countless carrier pigeons with messages, but all had been shot down by German fire. Major Whittlesey and the 308th Infantry Regiment was down to their last hope: one single carrier pigeon named “Cher Ami”, which in French means “Dear Friend”. Cher Ami flew off with a simple message from Major Whittlesey on behalf of the 308th Infantry Regiment: “Our artillery is dropping a barrage directly on top of us. For heaven’s sake stop it”.
Despite all odds, Cher Ami made it from Hill 198 through 25 miles of enemy fire in just 25 minutes to reach the American artillery it was supposed to reach, but not before being shot through the breast, being partially blinded, and not before almost having its leg completely severed off by gunfire. According to Frank Blazich, a curator of military history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History where the bird is mounted for display as a taxidermy specimen, “It would be the equivalent of a human getting gut-shot and holding their guts and still walking 100 miles back. It’s just mind-blowing—with a broken leg, I should add”. Upon receiving the message, the American artillery immediately recalibrated and began to bomb German positions, leading the Germans encircling the 308th Infantry Regiment to retreat on October 7th, 1918.
A one pound pigeon had saved what became known as the “Lost Battalion”, but not before the damage was already done. Out of the 554 men engaged in the defense of Hill 198, 107 were killed, 190 were wounded, and 63 men were missing. Major Whittlesey, Captain Nelson Holderman, Captain George G. McMurtry, and First Sergeant Benjamin Kaufman all were awarded Medals of Honor, and Cher Ami won the Croix de Guerre from the French government. Today, Cher Ami can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. where it has resided for the last 105 years after being conserved via taxidermy.
The men of the 308th Infantry Regiment served gallantly and came back to American soil as heroes. They also came back with their Edison Army/Navy Phonograph, which now resides in the Don Gfell Education Center at the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum on public display. The Army/Navy Phonograph serves as a part of the 308th Infantry Regiment’s legacy, and their story reminds us of our amazing American veterans who, at one point in their life wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount up to and including their life.
Sources Used And Encouraged For Further Reading
Edison, Thomas A. 2009. “Let Us Not Forget – A Message To The American People : Thomas Alva Edison.” Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/edba-3756.
George, Alice. 2023. “Cher Ami, the Iconic World War I Carrier Pigeon, Makes His Debut at Carnegie Hall.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/cher-ami-the-iconic-world-war-i-carrier-pigeon-makes-his-debut-at-carnegie-hall-180983212/.
Kratz, Jessie. 2017. “The Lost Battalion of World War I.” Pieces of History. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2017/07/21/the-lost-battalion-of-world-war-i/.
Library of Congress. n.d. “History of the Edison Disc Phonograph | History of Edison Sound Recordings | Articles and Essays | Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies | Digital Collections.” Library of Congress. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-edison-disc-phonograph/.
Miles, L. W. 2008. History of the 308th Infantry 1917-1919. N.p.: Kessinger Publishing.
United States National Parks Service. 2015. “Thomas Edison in World War I – Thomas Edison National Historical Park.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/thomas-edison-in-world-war-i.htm.
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is currently a junior at Bowling Green State University. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education with a specialization in History.
For the past three years, Dillon has worked as a tour guide at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.
Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!
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